MELINDA KENDALL

11/9/2007 - POEM: A WASTED LIFE

A WASTED LIFE
A wasted life! This sad refrain
Comes surging through my ears again;
There’s no escape from thee, though fiend;
Thou art borne to me on every wind –
A wasted life! A wasted life!
 
By day or night, no peace for me;
Still, still before me I can see
The fragments of the dear dead past,
Which I (Oh! fool) from me have cast –
A wasted life! A wasted life!
 
I’ve tried to drown in lethean drain
This ruthless voice; but all in vain;
It comes with ten-fold force again,
And brings remorse to swell and strain –
A wasted life! A wasted life!
 
From out this deep dark Stygian sea,
While vainly struggling to be free,
I look above, and pray that I
No more may hear that awful cry –
A wasted life! A wasted life!
(Illawarra Mercury, April 8, 1884)
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About Me

The life and writings of Melinda Kendall, 19th-century Australian writer, pioneer, teacher and mother of the (presently) more-renowned Henry. The image here is that of Emily Kendall , Melinda's youngest daughter ( no image of Melinda has yet been recovered ) .

Recent Posts

• FOREWORD
• THE LIFE HISTORY OF MELINDA KENDALL THROUGH HER WRITINGS: PART 1
• THE LIFE HISTORY OF MELINDA KENDALL THROUGH HER WRITINGS: PART 2
• THE LIFE HISTORY OF MELINDA KENDALL THROUGH HER WRITINGS: PART 3
• THE LIFE HISTORY OF MELINDA KENDALL THROUGH HER WRITINGS: PART 4
• THE LIFE HISTORY OF MELINDA KENDALL THROUGH HER WRITINGS: END NOTES
• BASIL & MELINDA'S MARRIAGE
• POEM: HENRY KENDALL (BY HIS MOTHER)
• POEM: LOST IN THE BUSH
• POEM: A WASTED LIFE
• POEM: THE LATE HENRY KENDALL
• POEM: TO A LADY, ON HER BIRTHDAY
• POEM: FAIRY MEADOW
• PROSE PIECE: A DREAM IN ILLAWARRA
• POEM: HOME OF HOPE
• POEM: BETTER THAN GOLD
• PROSE PIECE: BROOKER'S NOSE
• POEM: IN MEMORIAM - WILLIAM WARREN JENKINS, ESQ. (& ANALYSIS)
• POEM: THE WOULD-BE POET’S LAMENT
• POEM: A SONG

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